Falkenhayn Fountain (Fântâna Falkenhayn), Sibiu

In 1948, after the establishment of the communist regime in Romania, the buildings on the Great Square were demolished. In addition to the statue of John of Nepomuk, which had stood here for over 200 years, the Falkenhayn fountain with its metal grille was also dismantled. It had stood here since 1538. It served the women who washed their clothes here and the animals that were watered from it at the market. In 1797, the magistrate banned the washing of clothes and watering of livestock at the fountain and decided to fence it off. In 1798, the fountain was embellished with a wrought-iron screen donated by the tanner Filek. He also financed the construction of a new basin in 1819. A hundred years later, General Falkenhayn donated the iron grille that fenced in the fountain, decorated with a depiction of a stork with a snake in its beak. The current fountain – inaugurated in 2006 – is a replica of the fountain from the 19th century.

It is said that a special cage was built here in the first half of the 18th century, into which disturbed people were brought.

A great highlight on the big square in Sibiu